“If the office of secretary of state, attorney general, auditor, or superintendent of public instruction becomes vacant by death, resignation, or disability as determined by law, the governor shall appoint a qualified person to serve in that office until the next general election and until a successor is elected and qualified. The person elected to fill a vacancy shall hold the office until the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was elected.”

“The state legislative races are a focal point this year because the parties want to better position themselves for 2020, the final election before the next round of redistricting. In many states, lawmakers play a role in drawing new districts for Congress and themselves after each census. Parties that control both legislative chambers and the governor's office can draw maps giving their candidates an advantage for the decade to come. Republicans controlled more legislatures after the 2010 Census and generally have fared better under the current maps.”

“Of particular importance are more than 800 races spread across about two dozen states where voters will be electing state lawmakers to four-year terms in which the winners could play a role in approving new congressional or state legislative districts.”

“This reveals some of the tension Democrats have with red-state Democrats. While tackling corporate greed and corruption has become an increasingly important part of the party platform, these donations show just how hard that sell will be when it comes to real races. Democrats need these moderate Democrats to get to the majority they need in the Senate, but that makes selling bills to hold corporations accountable a tough sell.
 
…
 
The bill exposed sharp divisions within the Democratic Party. Progressives slammed it as a giveaway to the banking industry, arguing that it recreated risks in the financial system that Dodd-Frank, the law passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, was meant to remove. Moderates said it made necessary fixes to the law and was an example of bipartisanship at its best.”

“The only thing the legislature has done is raise their own salaries. When I was in the legislature we weren’t worth the $10 a day we were getting then and I don’t think legislators are worth that much now.”